30 Apr 2010

Couscous Chicken Salad with Vegetables (2010.16)

by | posted in: Vegetables | 0

I really like couscous and I like chicken and I like vegetables. Thought this would be good. That’s about it – it was good.

Here you go:
This is from Easy Summer Meals (Cooking Light)

1 1/2 cup water
1 T evoo
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup couscous (uncooked)
1 yellow pepper, diced
1/2 finely chopped zuk
1/2 cup chopped mushroom
1 1/2 cup chopped chicken (I cooked mine and saved the broth for some soup I am going to make this wknd)
1/2 cup diced carrots
3 green onions, chopped
3 T dried currants
1 T dried chopped mint (or fresh)
pepper

Dressing:
1 cup plain ff yogurt
3 T lemon juice
1 T honey (less because it was really sweet, or Agave nectar)
1 T apple cider vinegar (or what you have)

Chop all veggies. Chop chicken. Cook couscous according to directions. Mix up dressing. Combine all. Best served over mixed greens for a light lunch.
1 1/2 cups: 368 cal, 8 fat, 4 fiber
29 Apr 2010

Taste of Raleigh: Bella Monica Flatbread Company

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Italian food. Comfort food.

There is a small, local Italian place within a 1/2 mile of home and I finally had a chance to go tonight. Definitely had to make reservations and had great company.

I tried to be a little on the healthy side – so I didn’t have any ooey gooey cheese – will have to go back and try something that has cheese!

Good:
1. The hospitality. Like an Italian family dinner table. They were excited we were there, people in white chef’s coats brought out our food, and they were very welcoming even when we were leaving. They weren’t shoving us out of there and couldn’t care less about how long we stayed and talked.
2. The meatballs. Perfectly seasoned and not dry at all – that’s what I like. Maybe I need to go back and get a huge meatball sub!
3. Option for whole wheat pasta. I went for the whole wheat penne – I could be a little healthy.
4. The tomato sauce. Not too spicy, not too chunky. Perfect for a pasta sauce. Right on!
5. My friends enjoyed their meal: chicken parm and stuffed shells. They both said they were great.

The Wish Was Better:
1, The bread. Definitely dig any other Italian place’s bread better than here. Dry and not too flavorful.
2. The bruschetta. They were cheap (which was good for an appetizer) but neither were really that good: blue crab on one and chicken liver pate on the other. I could have passed on both.
3. The non-descript salad. Yes it was good. But there was nothing special about it.

Would I go again – yes, definitely trying something cheesy this next time.
Would I make it my go to Italian place? Not yet – and definitely the chains are better so far.
Have heard amazing things about their pizza – so may hit that up soon!
28 Apr 2010

Book Review: Ware's Big Truths for Young Hearts

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Most people would not pick up this book and think of a seminary text book on theology (for example: Grudem, Erickson) – but this book is just as potent – just in paperback form!

Having the opportunity to work with Dr. Ware at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary was definitely a highlight for me during my time there. Seeing the humility and focus on the gospel in which he and his wife lived their lives was a light. The best part of the book, in a way, was the forward which was written by Ware’s daughters. They provided insight into long road trips and family dinners they had with their Dad. Dr. Ware lives this theology book. He just doesn’t teach it in the classroom or preach it from the pulpit; he and his wife model it for their children, even now as they are grown women. They have had a godly example from which to pattern their lives after and as they raise their children by teaching them Big Truths for Young Hearts.

There are multiple uses for this book (and no, one of them is not hand it to a 10 year old and have them give you a book report on it in a month):
1. Read it. Especially if you are a new believer, or know new believers, Dr. Ware puts many difficult theological concepts in terms and with illustrations to make them easier to comprehend.
2. If you are a Dad: read it, share it with your family – even a chapter a week – at family devotion time. It would be a source of encouragement and edification for you. Read the chapter (short 2-4 pages mostly), then have discussion. Makes family worship easier. The end of each chapter even has questions for discussion (so you don’t have to come up with those on your own either). This would be a great tool for Family Worship.
3. Praise. Many times at the end of each chapter, Dr. Ware breaks into a doxology of sorts. The idea that he models here for his readers is that knowing who God is (and Christ, the Spirit, the Church, Man, Salvation, End Times) should warrant our utmost praise! Maybe even break into song!

What I loved about this book is that it gave me broad segments of theology, didn’t try to cover everything, was readable, had Scripture within the text, and gave me many “pierce the heart” moments of conviction. Here are some:
“How foolish we are when we forget to read and study this book. But how wise and blessed we are when we go to this book constantly for instruction, guidance, correction, and help with living life as God wants.” (p 23 – The Bible)
“A grumbling spirit is sinful, because it fails to recognize God’s goodness and kindness in providing for us every good thing in life that we enjoy.” (p 69 – God Provides)
“If our punishment is a small thing, then when we learn that Jesus took our punishment upon himself, we think little of this. But, when we see our punishment as the great and weighty and horrible thing that it is, then it becomes a wonder and a marvel to us that Jesus took that punishment upon himself for us.” (p 99 – Punishment for Sin)
“The Spirit will have a great influence and will provide more direction in our lives as God’s Word “dwells” more and more within us. Our reading of his Word, our time spend memorizing and meditating on Scripture, is one of the main tools that the Spirit uses to help us think, feel, speak, and act in ways that are more and more pleasing to Christ.” (p 167 – Spirit)
“We love many things in this world that we shouldn’t love, yet we don’t love God as we should.” (p 171 – God’s Kindness and Wisdom)
Believe me, there are many other sentences and paragraphs underlined in my copy. Read it. May it be an encouragement to you and may it be a tool you can use to help lead your family in knowing God deeper.

Colossians 3.16 – Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.”
26 Apr 2010

Redeeming the Time (Guest Post)

by | posted in: Women | 0

I don’t know of any woman (single, married, young, not as young, with kids, no kids) who will tell me that she is not busy. We have iPhones, calendars, outlook, post-it notes, etc to help keep us organized! Unfortunately, every day we live, most of us are just getting busier.

There are many Scriptures that tell us how to redeem our time – in every area of life. But, I want to concentrate on your time at home today.

There are a few books that have helped me see this reality a bit clearer: Girls Gone Wise, Shopping for Time, and The Gentle Ways of a Beautiful Woman. Of course there are more, but these three come to mind.

I want to live most of my life at home. Ok, yes, I work a full time job, in ministry, so that often means that it is well over 40 hours and even when at home I’m doing work for work. However, since i’ve been here, that has not been a reality for me. Some of the personal disciplines that I had in Louisville have not translated well to Raleigh living. Why – busy-ness and lack of strategical planning my day.

My friend Courtney wrote a fantastic blog post on her site about how the Spirit is sanctifying her in this area right now:

“Today has been a lazy day. And boy, do I like it! About a month or two ago a dear friend encouraged me to examine my schedule and cut things out that took me away from my husband and my home. As she wisely observed, I had begun to fill my evenings, and even my Saturdays, with a lot of other things that had very little to do with my husband. I had assumed that since he was studying I could just do whatever I wanted. He didn’t need me around, right? Well, what happened was these other things became overwhelming. Suddenly, I was just away from home too much, but I was exhausted and moody when I was home. Not good.”

To read the rest…go visit Courtney:

Here are a few exhortations from Scripture:

Prov 31.10, 15, 27: “An excellent wife, who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. She rises while it is yet night, and provides food for her household and portions for her maiden. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.”

These commands and characteristics of the excellent wife (or excellent woman as Carolyn McCulley points out and illustrates in her book Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye) will look different depending on what life stage you are currently in. But, each of us must strive, in and through grace, to live these out. God has given us His Word to live out by the strength of His grace for his fame and glory in the world (or in our home, or to our friends, or our husbands).

May you be strengthened in His grace today!

Colossians 3.16 – Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.”
25 Apr 2010

Taste of Mooresville: Lancaster's BBQ

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What kind of BBQ fan are you? Is it a noun or a verb? Do you like Memphis, TX, Sonny’s, Eastern, Western, TN, KY – so many people out there and everyone with an opinion on BBQ. Well…
Here is mine…
I had one of the best BBQ sandwiches ever to be put in my mouth today. Definitely worth the 2 hour and 20 minute drive and the 3.85 per sandwich. The chopped cole slaw and the mild sauce (not vinegar) made this sandwich dynamite!
It is definitely a fave of my sister-in-laws and a gas station in Mooresville has it for sale on Sundays.
The homemade chips are great and not too salty – fun to eat when dipped in ranch dressing. They also come seasoned if you want them – cajun style – that is how Alan chose to eat his – dipped in their vinegar sauce.
So good – go now.
23 Apr 2010

Menu Week: April 26

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This is a busy week – much eating out, hanging out with people. Looking forward to ALL of it! Gotta make wise decisions though about what I get!

Monday: oats and fruit for breakfast (good start to the week). Homemade chicken quinoa soup for lunch and veggies. Dinner is at Champas (the thai part of it) with bonnie over reading.

Tuesday: Breakfast at one of my fave places: Cafe Carolina (not that they have anything healthy there). Lunch with a new friend. Coffee at Bux later with a mission-minded college girl at State.

Wednesday: Publix bread, pb, and fruit. Lunch is with my co-workers at Crabtree Valley Mall (so many options). Dinner with some fave people at the Summit to meet their new(ish) little boy. Can’t wait for that meal and hang out time!

Thursday: Publix bread. Salad. Dinner while babysitting for some wild and crazy kids who love Jesus!

Friday: Egg white omelette with veggies, soup and pbj, dinner is something random because we have Joy Prom that night!

Saturday: Flying Biscuit with Rach, then off to the Farmers Market. Can’t wait to see what I find – and that will be lunch and dinner.

The recipe of the week this week will be something I can bake for the Joy Prom Volunteer room on Friday night – I’m thinking bars or brownies of some sort!

23 Apr 2010

Book Review: Our Home is Like a Little Church

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Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, KY is graced to have many talented people in her body. There are artists, writers, singers, players, cookers, – so many.
What I really like about this one is it a simple reminder (complete with rhyming syntax, fun type, and creative characters) of what “worship-at-home” could look like.
Often, in this discussion of family worship, people ask “How do I do that?’ There isn’t anything you MUST do to have family worship or have to incorporate for it to be right. If you aren’t singers, you don’t have to sing. If you aren’t into poetry, you don’t have to have a reading time. Family Worship can start simply by just reading 10 verses, talking about it, and praying together as a family. Maybe that will take 10 minutes. Maybe you will do that once a month. Maybe you’ll do it once a week. The simple equation: just do something. Maybe you are gifted at the guitar or piano or writing songs or creative motions – incorporate those. There is so much freedom in this concept of family worship. Maybe your children love to draw – show them how their drawings can be an act of worship – as they share with the family what God taught them through that practice.
Sojourn tries to remind parents that they should be taking the lead in family worship, that the Dad should be shepherding his family in this way (just as the Pastor would do at the church). An underlying theological truth that is hinted at is that male leadership is a right Biblical concept. This is stated in their goal of this book: “was written to teach preschool children the Christian truth evident…that the home is a little church where the father teaches his family God’s commands and leads them to worship the one true God.”
And in accomplishing this goal very well, Sojourn also puts forth the co-championing model of Family Worship: “God intended the home to be the front line of ministry to children – not the Sunday School or public church gathering ALONE.” This is even intentional throughout the book as on one side of the page there is what we do in church and on the adjacent side if what we do at home.
One critique: this is more of a cultural one. Unfortunately, many marriages/families even within evangelical churches are lead by a single mother. Whether that is by divorce/separation/never present father/unwed teen moms/death – the reality is clear and present. The book is designed to appeal to “cookie cutter” Christian families. How does this work when given to a single Mom who is at her rope’s end because her kids are driving her crazy with all the other demands of being a single parent? One way to use this would be to give it to her, but then do a couple things:
1. Pray (with her) that God would give her strength and grace to accomplish this task of raising her children and discipling them in the fear and admonition of the Lord.
2. Pair her up with another Mom (single or married) who is leading well in this area.
3. Don’t just send her on her way – make sure she is being cared for, loved on, and nurtured.

This book would be an excellent, inexpensive tool to share with new parents, or new parents in your preschool ministry at your church – about what you expect of them as parents and leading the way in Family Worship.

Colossians 3.16 – Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.”
23 Apr 2010

Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

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I love cookies. Bad, bad cookies! 🙂
But, when you are making them for 8th grade girls to go along with pizza and get them full of sugar for a sleepover – they are perfect. These are so good – especially right out of the oven. Perfectly chewy!

1 cup unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs (room temp)
2 1/2 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 SCANT tsp salt
5 oz butterscotch chips
4 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
4 oz milk chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Cream wet ingredients. Add in dry. Fold in chips and nuts.
Larger cookies – 11 minutes – slightly sprayed cookie sheets. 350 degrees.
Cool and eat!

Question: Do have a favorite cookie sheet that looks like this one? And what are your fave chips to use in cookies?
22 Apr 2010

Winner's Mudhouse Sabbath

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There is more to this book than just a cool title.
My friend Janel had this book at her apt when I went to visit in January. I had just started reading through the Bible doing B90x (which I’m still doing by the way) and this aided in my understanding of some of the Jewish laws. With all the fun that we had that wknd, I only got about halfway through it before I left (I’m not a fast reader). But, I was so intrigued by it that I had to pick it up later and finish it. I just did.
This book was helpful in learning more about the laws and customs of Judaism, modern and ancient. This was helpful in seeing a Christian Jew live out her faith but not be under the obligations of the law. Helped to see how community and the law are so important to folks who are devout Jews.
Winner covers many different aspects: food, the sabbath, hospitality, death, doorposts, weddings, candles, etc. All offered insight into what was practiced, what is still being practiced, and how a Christian can incorporate these practices into her life.
On Fasting: “People who have fasted for years tell me there will come a time when I look forward to fasting.” (88). Man – this is hard. I remember in recent churches I have been in when the pastors would call the church to a corporate fast. I would try to do it. Most of the tie, I did it out of trying to please certain pastors. Not in an effort to pray and seek the face of God as part of the beautiful Bride of Christ. So, I did it more out of pride, man-pleasing, and legalism and I always failed at it.
On Fasting: “When I am sated, it is easy to feel independent. When I am hungry, it is possible to remember where my dependence lies.” (91) This applies to more than just food. Yes, food is the way Lauren talks about it here – but more recently I come to recognize this in finances and material goods. God has been more than gracious to me in so many ways and there is nothing for which I want. But, even toward the end of the month where I have to be more careful and rely on him for guidance on spending and scheduling – I realize that I need to do that all through the month and not just the last week. God is good.
On Aging: “Christianity and Judaism both offer narratives that make sense of death.” (101). A few months ago I thought about this paragraph (yes, before I read it). There were a coupld of deaths in my life that occurred all in a short span of time. And I was also helping others through greiving, etc. I started to think that we would never understand death. I came to the conclusion that we were never meant to understand death because we weren’t created with death in mind. Adam and Eve were created to live with God in the garden in perfect harmony forever. Then…SIN. Sin is what brought death. God made a way to conquer death – but He never said he would explain it to us.
On Candles: “Even when I am lighiting two thin tapers over dinner, I like to think about the light of Christ rectifying the sin by which came death to the world. The Light of Christ, I sometimes say to myself, Thanks be to God.” (119) Most of the time when we have lit candles in our homes they are to create ambience or help eliminate odor. I wonder what would happen if Glade or Yankee Candle Co started marketing to Christians as way a remember this Light of the World. Probably what would be the result is some cheezy fish candle or cross candle just like Testamints or other silly things like that. But, what would happen if we lit candles in our home and made it an intential part of that lighting to thank God for sending the Light of the World to use so that we could behold his glory and truth?

Colossians 3.16 – Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.”
22 Apr 2010

Catching up in Raleigh

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Alright – we’ll I’ve been in Raleigh almost a month now – not quite – but I wanted to give an update.
This month has been hard. I eat out a lot, I am busy so I don’t have as much time to exercise, and I’m just not pleasing my Lord as much in the area of food and taking care of my body. I’ve been tired and my back has been hurting more (probably because I’m not exercising as much so my abs are getting weak). Living with a roommate has in some ways been different than I thought in the area of food – eating with people is more of a detriment to my diet than eating alone. Trying to make wise but cheap decisions when eating out but also not getting a salad every time is always a challenge. Like this week: all three burrito places in 3 days.
The weather has been great, but since my nights are getting busier I’ve not been getting home till late so I just pop in a Jillian video. Days off (like today) I’ll do a lake a couple of times then walk it tonight with my roommate for our first roommate night (followed by 25 cent DQ). Best laid plans don’t always work – but you can at least have a plan.
Last weekend I was supposed to the do Spring Saunter in Durham – but I was not prepared for it physically, spiritually, or mentally. I was probably most ready for it physically – but that doesnt’ always help.
I need to keep working – I’m always a work in progress. I think the beginning of my weeks will be harder to have outdoor exercise, and the end of the week will be full of it. Kinda opposite the food intake. So, we shall see.